As we read or pray this prayer, it would be easy for us to see our “daily bread” or the “forgiveness of our debts” as the focal things, but they aren’t. The focal thing in this prayer is God and our relationship with Him. When we express our need to Him for bread and for forgiveness, we interact with Him in a way that cultivates our relationship with Him and acknowledges who He is. God is not merely the “bread-Giver” or “Forgiver,” He is our Father. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)

I also recently heard someone claim that if one is “in Christ,” then that person is already forgiven all past, present and future sins and need no longer ask forgiveness. This statement is an attempt to reduce our relationship with God to mere dogma or theology. Think of this in terms of relationship instead. If a husband says, “I don’t need to tell my wife I love her, she already knows that,” he is depriving his wife and himself of the expression of and cultivation of their love relationship. The same is true for us if we say we don’t need to ask God forgiveness.

When we sin, we need to confess our sins, humble ourselves before God and ask His forgiveness. Sin rifts any relationship. Forgiveness repairs that rift. Theologically we know that God will forgive us before we ask Him, but experientially we need to ask Him. We need to express our sorrow over sin and resolve to love and follow Him. This is all necessary for a healthy relationship. (See 1 John 1:9.)

But there is a second part of this prayer of forgiveness. We’ve already asked for God’s kingdom to rule in our hearts and lives. One of the ways we live that out most fully is by forgiving others when they sin against us. We want to be like our Father, who is loving, long-suffering and forgiving. Can we really expect Him to forgive us if we refuse to forgive others? In fact, shortly after this prayer, Jesus commented, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

A friend who discipled me many years ago coached me to “keep short accounts” with God and with others. What he meant was to attend to our relationships in such a way that we would never be harboring ill-will toward someone or withholding forgiveness from someone. In this same spirit we pray to our heavenly Father, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

©2011 Rob Fischer

Asking God to provide for us is not an abdication of our responsibility to work hard for ours and others’ needs. Rather this request simply acknowledges that everything we have and enjoy is a gift from God. We look to Him as our loving, sovereign benefactor. The psalmist expressed to God: “You send rain on the mountains from your heavenly home, and you fill the earth with the fruit of your labor. You cause grass to grow for the livestock and plants for people to use. You allow them to produce food from the earth—wine to make them glad, olive oil to soothe their skin, and bread to give them strength.” (Psalm 104:13-15 NLT)

Our request for God to “give us today our daily bread” also emphasizes a daily, habitual looking to Him for all our needs. In our culture, we often think of dependency as a negative thing. But dependency on God is always healthy, “For in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) When a small child depends on its parents for everything that child needs, this represents a good and wholesome relationship. So it is in our relationship with our heavenly Father.

Finally, we recognize in asking, “Give us today our daily bread,” it would be foolish of us to rant and rave like a spoiled child demanding things from our Father that we do not need or should not have. God is not a genie who appears on command to fulfill our every wish! Yet He is not stingy either. Paul urged Timothy: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

The things beyond our needs that God has given us, we enjoy due to His kindness and gracious provision. He is so good! He wants us to continue to trust in Him and to learn to be like Him and give generously to others just as He has given generously to us. Thus we humbly pray, “Give us today our daily bread.”

©2011 Rob Fischer

When we pray to God, “Hallowed be your name,” we both declare that God is holy and that we desire our lives to honor Him as holy. We profane Him when we ascribe attributes or works to Him that are not holy or are inconsistent with His character. Paul warns in this regard, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1:21-23)

We also profane, rather than hallow God’s name, when we think, speak and behave in a manner inconsistent with who we are as His children. God had appointed Israel to serve as a light to the Gentiles, showing them the way to God. But through disobedience to Him, the Scriptures declare, “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:24)

When we pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” we are declaring and rejoicing that our heavenly Father is holy. And in the same breath, we humbly bow before Him, desperately asking Him to make us holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). To hallow His name is to glorify Him and one of the simplest ways we glorify Him is by enjoying Him. John Piper reminds us, “God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him.”

“Father, You are holy, holy, holy! May my life proclaim and exhibit Your holiness to all around me. Remove from me anything unholy or unclean. Father, You are my joy and delight! Hallowed be Your name!”

©2011 Rob Fischer

That our Father is in heaven is not meant to frighten us, but it should awe us with a sense of reverence (godly fear) and wonder! The fact that God is both our very present Father and our exalted God in heaven is also extremely comforting! For He is not like an earthly father who may disappoint, act selfishly, capriciously, or weakly. Listen to His voice as he calls:

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)

That’s who our heavenly Father is! He is the Creator. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. He is neither bound by time, nor by the physical laws that bind us. He is infinitely greater than all that. He is “our Father in heaven.” There is no place from which He cannot hear us. He is sovereign—there is nothing that surprises Him or escapes His notice. He knows us intimately—even our very thoughts and desires.

Knowing all of the above, King David prayed, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24) (See all of Psalm 139!) We pray to “our Father in heaven.”

©2011 Rob Fischer

“Our Father in heaven….” We begin by addressing God as “our Father.” He is the Father of us all from the viewpoint that He created us. We are His. (See Acts 17:24-31.) More specifically, God has called us into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Through Christ we become His children; His sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18). So we rightly and reverently address God as our Father. We look to Him for everything: love, protection, provision, and deep relationship.

We come to Him, not as an outsider begging for a hearing that we might make a one-time request. We come to Him as our loving Father, who delights in His children. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!?” (Matthew 7:11) Do you believe that? It’s vital that we do! To think less of God is to belittle Him and demean His character. So come to Him as His beloved child knowing that He longs to hear from you and spend time with you.

When I pray, “Our Father,” I also recognize that I am not alone as God’s child. Instead, I’m a part of God’s family. There are numerous implications of this truth. You or I are not an only child in God’s family! The relationships we have with others of God’s children are profoundly important in terms of our relationship with our Father. If we have a problem with one of God’s kids, we’ve got a problem with God! Those broken relationships cannot help but negatively impact our ability to pray and fellowship with our Father.

In the same context of Matthew’s account, Jesus had explained earlier the correlation between our relationship with the Father and with others of His kids. Jesus said that if we’re in the process of worshiping God and remember a broken relationship, we’re must speedily reconcile with that brother or sister first and then return to worshiping God (Matthew 5:23-24). And Peter warns husbands that failure to treat our wives in an understanding way will hinder our prayers to God (1 Peter 3:7).

That we pray, “Our Father,” also calls to mind the wonder and power of praying in concert with other followers of Christ. When God’s kids come together as a family to pray to their heavenly Father, some very powerful things happen! (See Acts 4:23-31.)

©2011 Rob Fischer

The first parable is about a man who has an urgent need late at night and who goes to his neighbor for help. But his neighbor refuses to help him with lame excuses. It’s important to realize that in that culture and day, it was unthinkable for this man not to help his friend. Jesus’ point is clear: God is not like this neighbor who feels inconvenienced by his friend. God cares deeply for us and will help us! Jesus assures us further with the words, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10)

The second parable consists of a series of rhetorical questions: “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13) By way of contrast, Jesus urges us to recognize that if we, who are sinful, know what it means to be kind to our children, then how much more will our heavenly Father do so!?

Our heavenly Father delights in answering the prayers of his children. That doesn’t mean that we always get what we ask for, but it does mean that he will always respond by giving us what is best for us and will bring him glory. This isn’t double-talk! For if we stop and consider our relationship with God and his kindness, love and compassion for us, we ultimately want what he wants. We desire his glory. We want for us what he deems best, because he knows best.

In the next post, we’ll begin looking more closely at the Lord’s Prayer itself.

©2011 Rob Fischer

The text of the two prayers is nearly identical. The fact that they are not exactly the same demonstrates that these are two separate incidents, and that Jesus’ intention for this model has more to do with the spirit of prayer than with the repetition of static words.

The context of the prayer in Matthew’s Gospel shows that Jesus is trying to correct a hypocritical approach to prayer that was common among the religious leaders of the day. These hypocrites (Jesus calls them that!) would stand in public places and pray aloud for the benefit of being seen and heard by others. Jesus explains, “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” (Matthew 6:5) Their prayers accomplished nothing further than perhaps impressing the simple-minded and swelling their own heads!

In contrast to the hypocrites, Jesus urges us, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)Our view of God impacts the way we pray. If we think that praying is simply a religious act with which we earn points with God and by which we can impress others, our view of God belittles and demeans him and twists our motives into something evil. But if we view prayer as a means for communion with our heavenly Father, who is awesome, loving and caring, we find great reward in him.

Jesus also explains that God is not interested in prayers full of endless babble or meaningless repetition. This was the practice among the pagans of the day and still is today. Jesus comments that these people think that God will answer because of their incessant pleading. But Jesus says, “Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8) Again, a false view of God leads to a distorted view of prayer.

Jesus then explained, “This, then, is how you should pray,” and he models what we call the “Lord’s Prayer.”

©2011 Rob Fischer

©2011 Rob Fischer

Our forgiveness, however, cannot be based on trust or on the likeliness that the offender will not hurt us again. Instead, our forgiveness must be based on the character and example of God Himself. In three primary passages of the Scripture on forgiveness, every one of them draws attention to God’s character and His example of forgiving us.

In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus modeled the phrase, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” After the prayer he commented on that phrase, “For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:12, 14-15) Our heavenly Father is our example. He has graciously and mercifully forgiven us and asks us to do likewise. We are His children and He wants us to be like Him and act as He does.

A second passage that demonstrates the character of God in forgiveness is Matthew 18:21-35. Here Peter thought he was being generous in offering to forgive others up to seven times. Jesus responded, “No not seven times, but seventy times seven!” (Matthew 18:22 NLT) Then Jesus told Peter a parable about a servant who owed his master an incredibly large debt, so large he could never have possibly paid it back. But mercifully, his master forgave him his debt completely. This is what God is like toward us.

But the forgiven servant went out and found one of his peers who owed him about ten bucks and demanded payment. When his peer could not pay, this forgiven servant had him thrown into prison. When the servant’s master found out about his servant’s wicked actions, he had him jailed and tortured. At the end of the story, Jesus commented, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matthew 18:35)

Our heavenly Father is magnanimously generous with his forgiveness toward us—we, who owe him a debt we could never pay. Now he expects us to be generous with our forgiveness toward each other both because of and in demonstration of God’s great mercy toward us.

Finally, in Ephesians 4:32 we read, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Once again, God is our example of forgiveness. Just as in Christ He forgave us, so we should forgive each other. Paul concludes, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children.” (Ephesians 5:1)

©2011 Rob Fischer

God created us for relationship with him, but what does that look like? How do we interact with God? What does he expect from us? We are to love God, but what is this about enjoying him? Two-way communication is a hallmark of any relationship, so how does communication function in our relationship with God? How does God speak to us? How do we recognize his voice? What do we do with what he tells us? Rob seeks to answer all these questions and more through the Scriptures and lots of examples from his own life, so that you too may be enthralled with God!

Enthralled with God–Cultivating a Joy-Filled Relationship with Him is available on Amazon.com! You will find the book in both soft-cover and e-version.

Below is the brief introduction from this book that I’m sure you’ll want to read.

Introduction

A few years ago, a young woman named Amy was living with us. One evening we heard the front door open and my wife and I went to the top of the stairs to greet Amy. She was returning home from discipleship training at our church. I called down to her and asked her how it went.

Amy had a huge grin on her face and stood there speechless for a moment. Then she blurted out, “I’ve been a Christian for many years, but tonight I discovered that I can enjoy God!—This changes everything!”

It’s true! Enjoying God, being enthralled with him does change everything! My experience and that of countless others have been every bit as dramatic and life-changing.

If you long to know God more deeply, seeing him as your joy and delight, then this book is for you! You are embarking on a great adventure with God!

© 2010 Rob Fischer

To order your copy of Enthralled with God please click on the link: http://www.amazon.com/Enthralled-God-Cultivating-Relationship-ebook/dp/B004CRSSZ6/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290529603&sr=1-4